Audrey and Nick were both born and raised in Hatch, New Mexico the green chile capital of the world. After Nick proposed on beachside in Mexico on a trip away together, Audrey started to look for a wedding venue that would wow her guests and family and still honor her agricultural and New Mexico heritage. Both Nick and Audrey feel in love with Casa Rondeña Winery in Albuquerque, New Mexico and knew the winery with an Italian air is where they would become Mr. and Mrs.  

Audrey seamlessly curated a wedding style of sophisticated, lush elements. Greenery draped tables, ceremony arch and getaway car mirrored the rolling grapes vines surrounding the event. Audrey chose a wedding dress with a sweetheart neckline, dramatic train, and a silhouette fitting for Grace Kelly.

Besides the caring attention to details, this wedding brought family and friends together to celebrate the natural and easy love shared between Nick and Audrey.

Here’s more from Audrey!

What did you envision your wedding being prior to planning? 

Prior to planning my wedding, I honestly hadn't given much thought to how I wanted my big day to be. I was never the type of person that had pictured her wedding as a child.  So when I got engaged I thought, how in the world am I going to tackle this?? My inspiration actually came from my fiancé Nick. He told me what he had envisioned for his wedding and I loved it! Nick and I both had an affinity for the classic American weddings mixed with a little vintage style but also somehow modern.  We wanted to have a lot of neutral colors and not too many decorations because we wanted the beauty of the venue to shine. After we had an idea of what we wanted it made it a lot easier on me to fill in the blanks!

What was your color palette and your style vision?

My color palette was basically a lot of neutrals; white, grey, and green were the stars but we also had notes of blue and pink in the end.  What is so funny is that when I had initially picked out the bridesmaid dresses (online) they looked like they were a smoky grey... however when they arrived they looked like a bright blue in the sunlight! It wasn't initially what I had envisioned but it turned out pretty anyways.

What unique elements or DIY details did you include?

My favorite DIY project that we did for the wedding was the centerpieces. I wanted so badly to have real candles as the focus on our guest tables, however everywhere we looked it was going to be so overpriced and I was almost willing the change my mind before we came across THE candles on Amazon. The centerpieces came out perfect and we saved a ton of money.  One of my favorite details from the wedding was the tie I gave my dad the day of, I had sewn on the back a heart that said "Dad I loved you first" with our wedding date 8.18.18. He cried, I cried and it was perfect. 

What was your favorite moment? Your favorite crafted detail?

My favorite moment hands down was the transition from the ceremony into the getaway car. I was exploding with happiness and driving away in my grandpa’s classic car while watching everyone cheer and wave, it seemed like a fairytale. The car was the most important detail to me, weeks prior my family put in so many hours trying to get it running and just the day before they had to leave for the wedding, it started up.  My grandpa who had just turned 97 was giddy with happiness because not only did he get to see his granddaughter get married but also see her drive away in his car that was so dear to him.

Tell us about your flowers, your gown, favors, cake, etc.

The flowers were easy and simple. I wanted white with green accents and it matched the venue beautifully.  We also had our florist bring in an Arbor for the ceremony which they decorated with the same flowers as the bouquets. When I had initially gone to try on dresses I had no idea what I wanted and what I purchased I would have never imagined myself in. I bought a strapless mermaid gown by Essence of Australia. I paired it with a body suit with lace sleeves and lace covered shoulders. To complete the dress I had a cathedral length veil with lace details on the bottom. The whole ensemble was beautiful and one of my favorite parts was taking off the bodysuit for the reception so that it seemed like a whole new dress!  We wanted our cake to match the theme of the rest of the wedding, so we went with a four tiered classic white buttercream with simple details and real flower accents.  Nick’s family is Italian so instead of the typical vanilla or chocolate, we went with an Italian wedding cake and it was so good!

What is one piece of advice that you would give brides-to-be?

The one piece of advice I would give to brides-to-be is to remember why you are getting married.  The year leading up to the wedding and especially the weeks before are so stressful and it becomes really overwhelming. It is so easy to become wrapped up in the wedding you forget why you are getting married and that is because you love the person that you are with.  Even if you have to remind yourself every day just don't forget the most important part, your love for each other! 

VENDORS:

Venue: Casa Rondeña Winery

Wedding Photographer Videographer: Taylor'd Photography

Coordinator: Orange September

Rentals: Rust Vintage Rentals

Floral: Floriography

Cake: Cake Fetish

Men’s Attire: Men’s Wearhouse

Bride’s dress: Ella Blu

Dress Designer: Essense of Australia

Bridesmaids dresses: JJ’s House

Hair: Santiago Romero

Make-Up: Angelique Martinez

Catering: Sparky's

Are you looking for a New Mexico wedding photographer? We would love to chat with you about your wedding!